016 EDITOR’S LETTER PHOTO BY DONN MAEDA
Traveling across the country is one of
my least favorite things to do, but this
month I had one of my most enjoy-
able California-to-Florida turnaround
trips in recent memory. With a GoPro-
sponsored project featuring Team
Honda HRC’s Cole Seely on the to-do
list, I set out to make the most of my
time in the Sunshine State by also lin-
ing up a cover shoot for next month’s
issue with Monster Energy/Pro Cir-
cuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo—a
rider who has unbelievably never
had a cover of TWMX before.
Normally a full-time California kid,
Seely relocated to Florida for the
first time this summer with the goal
of training in the heat and humidity
alongside other elite athletes. Living
only a few doors down in the Cler-
mont apartment complex is Seely’s
Team Honda HRC teammate for the
summer and fellow native Califor-
nian Christian Craig, while local boy
Cianciarulo resides only a few miles
away in a home he purchased a
couple years ago. Although they are
often joined at the gym and track by
GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin and
Chase Sexton, the trio is a clique of
sorts and the closest thing to the
Three Stooges I’ve encountered in
real life and it’s cool to see the friend-
ship that they share. From breakfasts
at Kiki’s to motos at The Nest, and
from workout sessions at the gym to
online Call of Duty games, the three
riders are virtually inseparable. “I en-
joy being out here to train and ride
because there are no distractions,”
Seely says. “We train and ride and
barely leave the house aside from
that because it’s so humid.”
“Riding with other riders of such
high caliber keeps you account-
able,” Cianciarulo adds. “Sure, you
can do lap times while riding alone,
but when you’re riding with other
top guys you never want to lose, so
you’re always giving it your best.”
In contrast to the two single guys
he hangs with, Craig is joined inFlorida by his family: wife Paige and
son Jagger. “We love it out here,”
Craig says. “Everything for moto-
cross is better out here, and we’re
looking to relocate permanently.”
Breakfast with the guys was pure
comedy. From the old-age jokes di-
rected at Seely by Cianciarulo, to the
banter about the last online Call of
Duty game played, the conversation
is light and entertaining. My favorite
jabs, however, are the mom jokes
between AC and Cole. Not the “your
momma” jokes I grew up with, but
more along the lines of MILF jabs. (I
find this particularly entertaining as
I teased AC about his hot mom for
years...until he got old enough to
start inquiring about my daughters.)
Watching all of the guys pound
laps at The Nest was both awesome
and eye-opening. To an outsider the
track looks like dirt bike heaven with
its loamy dirt and wide-open layout,
but the looks on the guys’ faces each
time they pull off makes it painfullyMY BEST FRIEND IS THE ONE WHO BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN ME.”
—HENRY FORDclear that the course and weather
conditions would be far too much
for a rider of my caliber to enjoy.
Martin, especially, impresses me as
he spends the entire day on a cor-
ner track that’s cut into a field on the
side of the main track. Consisting
only of deep, rutted corners, Martin
rails around it until I’m dizzy from
watching—all the while not taking a
single stab at the clutch lever.
On my final day in Clermont, Seely
is notified by the apartment manager
that his request to change apart-
ments is granted. “Hey guys, wanna
help me move after this?” he asks
at Chipotle, after a morning group
workout and road bike ride. Both
Sexton and Cianciarulo have mysteri-
ous prior commitments, leaving only
Seely’s neighbor Craig to assist. Al-
though I had thought about getting
to the airport early and relaxing, I felt
obligated to pitch in. After all, Cole
didn’t have much in his two-bedroom
bachelor pad: two beds, a couch, two
TVs, a dresser, and other small items.
Then I found out he was relocating to
a third-floor apartment, two buildings
down...with no elevators! The two
hours of moving were brutal, to say
the least, but somehow it all seems
fun now that I look back at it. Soaked
with sweat and feeling as if I had
done a moto at The Nest, I thanked
Cole and Christian for a great time
and pinned it to the airport and made
my flight by the skin of my teeth.
On the plane, I downloaded and
began to review the GoPro footage
from all my cameras. One clip in par-
ticular was entertaining. After filming
himself pedaling on his road bike with
a handlebar-mounted Session5, Seely
unclipped it from his bars and hand-
held it to get a “selfie” view of him and
AC as they flew down a Florida high-
way. “Oh, a selfie?” AC quips. “That
kind of reminds me of when I was
FaceTiming with Caryn last night!”
Caryn is Seely’s mom, of course.
Search “48 Hours in Florida” on
TransWorldMX.com to see the foot-
age from my trip!